I've just be overtly racist in a job interview. I'm not getting the job am I

[JayHooooo]

had an interview today for a job I really wanted. It's for a very professional role, one where I will work with vulnerable people from all different backgrounds.

I was asked for a time when I worked with someone challenging in the office.

I discussed someone who would very openly state their opinions on people. Whether it was insulting their clothes,hair or work performance. She was very very blunt and honest. This caused conflict in the team as people were angry and offended with her and complained.

So I discussed with her what was appropriate for the work place blah blah (insert good I interview standard answer here )

When the interviewer told me that that was a very interesting example and what was the end result I said that she did learn not to be too personal but that she is still very honest but to be fair, she's Nigerian, and that's what Niegerians are like'.

😭😭😭😭😳😳😳😳😳😳😳

Absolute stunned silence from the panel!

I won't get the job. No chance.

The rest of the interview was a blur. I honestly want to curl up and die. I get so nervous in interviews and end up saying something really stupid, but this is the worst.

AIBU to say I'm not getting the job.

[stopfuckingshoutingatme]

Sometimes they are not stereotypes though ! Look at 'Very British problems ' on facebook -

[Bitofacow]

Addressing the racist stereotypes of one culture about another is a very delicate line to tread.

[LouKout]

Wow

[Bitofacow]

It is interesting when posters say stereotyping should stay out of education. Obviously it should in a negative context, but, if you want to make students aware of acceptable norms in British society you need to be able to address other societies norms.

For example in ESOL exams (English for Speakers of Other Languages) students often have to describe a friend, relative or teacher. Lots of cultures describe the relative 'lightness' of skin tone. The lighter the better .
We have to be aware of and address this cultural norm to explain it isn't appropriate in the UK.

OP - you've still not got the job

[Mathena]

eeek!

Just have a cup of tea and keep job hunting. Job hunting half heartedly myself now

Love a SA accent. I'd nearly chase after an Afrikaaner, on their bike,me running, talk to me, talktome!

[LouKout]

Go and find a more racist site

[LouKout]

Good idea. I like her thinking :)

[user1470041360]

Loukout , you report away. I'm bored of this censored site. Back to the real world for me. You and Harriette potter should hook up for some afternoon tea and sort out how to make everyone as liberal and liberated as you both think you are.

[EnormousTiger]

Harriette so what are we supposed to do in a business context? Surely you accept that to tell your staff what to expect when they great a group o f Japense business men or to go for a work trip to Dubai or Russia is not racist. It is often about winning business and learning to fit into the culture? I don't think that knowledge and learning is a bad thing.

If you follow basic manners and politeness and try to mirror what people do and say to you you tend not to go too far wrong, be kind, hospitable all the stuff I hope we all try to be every day in real life and teach our children but even just with that it really helps to be told about cultural differences

[HarriettePotter]

I agree with you LouKout

[EnthusiasmIsDisturbed]

An amusing thread of differences between people from different backgrounds turns into a lecture for those not so aware of what can and cannot be said

The op is well aware what she said is unprofessional that is why it is funny

As is the difference in etiquette in different societies (or isn't there such a thing Thatcher would have agreed with that) which at times seems ridiculous/amusing to others from different social backgrounds. all societies have them and all can be baffling to others and surely we can all laugh at how ridiculous we can all be

I love that there is so many differences

[LouKout]

Wow im getting it from both sides here. LoL.

PA reported.

[Batteriesallgone]

user I'm sorry I don't understand your point. If stereotypes aren't right or accurate, surely they are also meaningless?

[HarriettePotter]

.... and of course, no I don't believe those stereotypes in my pp. Just in case that wasn't obvious but they are stereotypes we see everyday in the media for example.

[HarriettePotter]

"And yet stereotypes persist because they help us make sense of the world. " Really?

"All women are bad drivers"
"All men are rapists"
"All Muslims with burkas or beards are terrorists"
"All teachers are lazy and demanding"
"All civil servants are lazy and inefficient"
"All dogs are dangerous"
"All women wearing revealing clothes / get drunk are asking 'for it'"

Are you really saying that thinking and talking in stereotypes help us navigate the world?

[70ontheinside]

And yet stereotypes persist because they help us make sense of the world. As long as you are aware that they are sweeping generalisations...

[HarriettePotter]

"Try facing racial abuse in the street or even from your own extended family. Look up the term "raceplaining" before lecturing people on how it feels to be stereotyped."

And.... interestingly you are making broad assumptions about my race and my experiences of abuse based on lazy stereotypes none of which are in any way apparent based on my posts.

[HarriettePotter]

User I am sorry for your bad experiences but I am really not quiet sure what your actual point is? Are you saying that cultural stereotyping in the workplace is appropriate, I genuinely do not understand what point your are trying to make.

[user1488647788]

Some people have "studied it" so it makes them an expert. Try facing racial abuse in the street or even from your own extended family. Look up the term "raceplaining" before lecturing people on how it feels to be stereotyped.

[HarriettePotter]

*Social norms and interactions

[Lndnmummy]

What Harriette said

[HarriettePotter]

"Harriette- 'culture is not an actual 'thing' WTF'"

I have actually studied this but here is a brief explanation of what I was trying to explain

www.livinganthropologically.com/2013/09/16/cultures-islands-dobu/
"There is no stateness to states, no essence to culture, not even a fixed content to specific cultures, let alone a fixed content to the West. We gain greater knowledge of the nation, the state, the tribe, modernity, or globalization itself when we approach them as sets of relations and processes rather than as ahistorical essences. (Trouillot 2003:5)"

also
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reification_(Marxism)

Social norms and interacts vary across places and times. But when can we ever accurately and helpfully state:

"All English women are....."
"All Scots are...."
"All Pakistanis are...."
"All men are..."
"All children are...."
"All people with HIV are..."

People falling under each of these categorise will share some or many characteristics and possibly norms and values but it can never be accurate or even helpful to state "all x, y, z are..."

[user1488647788]

Have you ever thought how hurtful comments such as these are for people who don't live in their own countries.

I'm a minority in the UK actually and have faced the brunt of people's prejudice several times in this country and others. But many thanks for the lecture on how it feels to be stereotyped and explaining that it can be hurtful.

I hadn't realised until you told me that making assumptions based on you own preconceptions is a little... narrow minded.